CB— B3'3 

QcnrtL 

*3// 


Duke  University  Libraries 


D03209775X 


R  E  1=  O  Pt  T 


OF    THE 


^TTOENEY    G-E^TERAL. 


CoNFEDERATt:  StaTES  OF  A.MERICA,  ^ 

Department  of  Justi<:e,  \ 

Richmond,  January  1,  1863.      ) 

Tojthe  President : 

SiRj — I  have  the  honor  to  submit,  for  your  consideration,  the  fol- 
lowing Report  from  this  Department : 

The  Patent  Officc,  "which  by  law  is  under  the  control  and  Supervision 
of  this  department,  has  not  received  the  piitronage  and  revenues  from' 
its  operations,  within  the  last  twelve  months,  the  preceding  year's 
operations  promised.  The  number  of  applications  for  patents  filed, 
since  the  first  of  January,  1862,  is  one  hundred  and  forty-nine,  and 
the  number  of  caveats,  sixty-four.  Seventy-five  patents  have  been 
issued,  during  the  year  1862.  Owing  to  the  incidents  of  the  war, 
especially  in  the  South-west,  and  along  our  seaboard,  the  receipts  of 
the  office  began  rapidly  to  decline  during  the  month  of  May ;  and,  in 
consequence  thereof,  and  of  diminished  business,  it  became  necessary 
shortly  thereafter,  to  reduce  the  number  of  clerks  employed.  The 
law  requires  the  office  to  be  self-sustaining.  The  expenses  were  re- 
quired to  be  retrenched,  in  order  to  prevent  the  speedy  exhaustion  of 
the  surplus  fund?  accumulated  by  previous  operations.  Since  the 
middle  of  November,  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  and  one  Assistant 
Examiner  have  constituted  the  whole  force  of  the  office.  As  the  sur- 
plus funds  of  this  office,  now  placed  to  its  credit  in  the  Treasury, 
amount  to  more  than  two  thousand  dollars,  it  is  confidently  believed 
the  office  will  conicinue  to  be  self-sustaining,  whilst  the  war  continues. 
For  the  past  men*  u  the  receipts  have  been  greater  than  for  several 
months,  and,  I  thi  'k,  the  business  and  consequent  revenue  will  much 
increase  with  the  ;  Ivancing  prospects  of  peace.  For  a  more  detailed 
statement  of  the  c  erations  of  the  office,  during  the  year,  and  of  its 
present  condition,  .  refer  to  the  report  of  the  efficient  Commissioner 
of  Patents. 

•  The  rapid  increase  in  the  cost  of  materials,  has  caused  some  troubl& 
in  the  Bureau  of  Public  Printing.  But  the  skill,  industry,  and  cir- 
cumspection of  Mr.  George  E.  W.  Nelson,  the  Superintendent,  and  of" 


Mr.  Ed.  G.  Dill,  his  admirable  Clerk,  have  saved  many  thousands  of 
dollars  to  the  Treasury.  I  call  your  attention  to  the  Report  of  the 
Superintendent,  and  recommend  the  alterations  in  the  laws  therein 
suggested. 

The  hnvs  of  each  session  of  Congress  have  not  been  pulilished  -with 
that  promptness  which  is  desirable.  But  this  delay  has  been  occasion- 
ed by  difficulties  growing  out  of  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country, 
rendering  it  almost  impracticable  to  procure  promptly  and  regularly 
the  materials  neces.sary  to  printing  establishments. 

The  law  requires  the  prompt  publication  of  the  acts  of  Congress  in 
some  newspaper  published  at  the  seat  of  government  of  each  state  of 
the  Confederate  States.  It  has  happened,  during  the  present  year, 
that  several  of  the  state  capitals  have  been  in  possession  of  the  energy. 
I  suggest  that  the  law  ought  to  be  so  amended  as  to  meet  such  emer- 
genc'ies,  by  authorizing  the  Attorney  Gen.cral  to  have  the  acts  pub- 
lished in  other  places,  whenever  it  is  impracticable  to  publish  them  at 
the  seat  of  government, 

I  must  not  omit  to  remind  your  Excellency,  that  the  organization 
of  the  Indian  Territories  has  not  yet  been  completed.  After  the  re- 
ception of  official  notice  that  the  treaties  with  the  Indians  had  been 
ratified,  nominations  for  Judges,«District  Attorneys  and  Marshals, 
were  made,  but  I  am  informed  of  no  action  of  the  Senate  thereon. 

The  constitution  of  the  Confederate  States  declares,  that  "  every 
Uaw,  or  resolution  having  the  forge  of  law,  shall  relate  to  but  one  sub- 
ject, and  that  shall  be  expressed  in  the  title."     I  cannot  suppose,  that 
-any  clause  of  the  constitution,  couched  in  such  terms,  is  merely  direc- 
■tory,  and  that  Congress  can  be  at  liberty  to  disregard,  in  enactments, 
so  plain  an  injunction  of  the  fundamental  law.      What  are  to  be  the 
•consequences  of  a  plain  departure  from  this  clause  of  the  constitution, 
in  framing  laws,  will  present  serious  questions  for  the  adjudication  of 
courts.     If  the  law  passed  embraces  more  subjects  than  one,  or,  if  the 
subject  of  it  be  not  expressed  in  the  title,  what  is^to  be  the  conse- 
quence?    Is  the  whole  law  thereby  to  become  void?     Is  the  enact- 
ment on  the  first  subject  named,  to  be  alone  held  valid,  or  is  the  last, 
or  any  other  named  ?     If  more  than  one. subject  be  embraced,  and  but 
one  is  expressed  in  the  title,  which  part  of  the  law  is  then  to  be  con- 
sidered valid?     Many  such  questions  might  be  asked, and  satisfactory 
answers  might  be  difficult  to  find.     I  am  induced  to  call  attention, 
specially,  to  this  clause  of  the  constitution,  because  one  law,  relating 
ito  officers  over  whom  this  department  has  control,  has  been  the  sub- 
ject of  discussion,  and  may  become  the  subject  of  litigation.     I  allude 
to  the  act  of  April  19th,  1862,  entitled    "  An  act  regulating  the  fees 
■of  marshals,  and  for  other  purposes."     This  act  not  only   regulates 
the  fees  of  marshals,  but   provides  for  the  appointment  of  criers  for 
'the  courts,  and  their  compensation  ;   it  also  regulates  the  compensa- 
tion of  jurors  and  witnesses.     Another  act,  passed  on  the  same  day, 
entitled  "An  act  regulating  the  fees  of  clerks,  and  for  other  purposes," 
is  liable  to  similar  objections.     I  name  these  two  acts  alone,  not  be- 
cause they  alone  are  subject  to  the  objections  indicated,  but  because 
they  are  sufficient  to  excite  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  subject. 


#3/ 


The  constitution  enjoins  on  Congress  the  duty  of  establishing  "a 
tribunal  for  the  investigation  of  claims  against  the  Confederate  States." 
The  numerous  claims  which  have  already  arisen,  and  others  likely  to 
arise  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  make  it  of  great  importance  to 
the  claimants  and  to  the  Government,  that  such  tribunal  should  be 
established  without  unnecessary  delay.  The  laws  now  provide,  that 
some  of  these  claims  shall  be  tiled  in  this  department,  whilst  others 
are  required  to  be  filed  in  the  Department  of  State.  Investigations 
into  their  validity  and  amount,  and  the  perpetuation  of  testimony,  are 
required  of  the  Attorney  General,  or  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  ac- 
cording to  the  character  of  the  claim.  It  must  be  obvious  to  the  most 
careless  observer,  that  the  other  duties  required  of  the  Attorney  Gen- 
eral, and  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  render  it  almost  impossible  for 
either  to  investigate  properly  the  justice  of  these  claims,  or  to  give 
personal  attention  to  the  taking  of  testimony  bearing  on  their  validity 
or  amount.  Thus,  the  testimony  would  be  almost  wholly  ex  parte. 
In  many  cases,  the  absence  of  a  rigid  cross  examination,  so  essential 
to  elicit  the  whole  truth,  will  result  in  imposition  and  frauds  on  the 
government.  Under  the  present  laws,  the  delay,  frequently  unavoid- 
able, to  honest  and  needy  claimants,  is  an  evil  to  be  deprecated.  Many 
of  the  persons  who  have  filed  claims  in  this  office,  have  been  impover- 
ished by  the  improvident,  not  to  say  grossly  negligent  or  oppressive 
action  of  our  own  troops.  To  such  claimants,  tardy  justice  becomes 
almost  oppression.  The  establishment  of  the  court  contemplated  in 
the  constitution,  would  remedy  all  the  evils  from  delay  and  imperfect 
examination  of  these  claims,  and  afford  safeguards  against  injustice 
and  fraud  on  the  government. 

When  the  framers  of  our  constitution  divided  all  the  delegated  pow- 
ers into  the  three  great  departments.  Legislative,  Executive  and  Judi- 
cial, they  never  contemplated  the  systeij^ully  organized  until  each  of 
these  departments  should  be  provided  with  a  head.  The  constitution 
has  now  been  in  operation  nearly  one  year,  and  yet  no  Supreme  Court 
has  been  established.  The  many  conflicting  decisions,  under  the  con- 
fiscation, conscription,  and  other  laws,  from  which  appeals  have  l)cen 
taken,  show,  but  too  plainly,  the  necessity  for  prompt  action  on  the 
part  of  Congress.  Uniformity  in  the  construction  of  statutes,  the 
preservation  of  constitutional  landmarks,  and  justice  to  the  property 
and  person  of  the  citizen,  all  call  for  the  establishment  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  head  of  the  Judicial  department  of  the  Government.  As 
the  law  now  stands,  no  appeals  are  allowed  from  the  decisions  of 
Judges  of  the  District  courts,  in  cases  arising  under  the  habeas  corpus 
writ.  I  respectfully  suggest,  that  in  such  cases,  appeals,  or  writs  of 
^rror  should  be  authorized. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed,)  T.  H.  WATTS, 

Attorney  General. 

//  //  <~  /  Q  Q 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 
in  2010  witii  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


littp://www.archive.org/details/reportofattorneyOOconf 


R,  E  F  o  n  rr  ' 


OF    THE 


SPPERINTEPENT  OF  PIBLIC  PRINTIM, 


FROM  FEBRUARY  22d,  TO  DECEMBER  3l3T,  1862. 


Department  of  Justice,  \ 

Bureau  of  Public  Printing,      \ 

Richmond,  January  5th,  1863.  ) 

Hon.  Thomas  Watts,  Attorney  General : 

Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  transactions  of  this  Bureau 
from.  February  22d  to  December  31st,  1862. 

The  bills  for  the  printing  of  Congress  and  the  several  Executive 
Departments,  examined,  approved  and  passed  for  payment,  during 
this  period,  foot  up  twenty-nine  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-four 
dollars  and  five  cents  ($29,844,05)  of  which  the  following  is  a  state- 
ment in  detail :     * 

BILLS  APPROVED  AND  PAID. 


For  Congress, 

$3,134  79 

For  the  Department  of  State, 

112  52 

For  the  Department  of  Justice, 

84  23 

For  the  Treasury  Department, 

2,311  71 

For  the  War  Department, 

20,691  51 

For  the  Navy  Department, 

1,126  87 

For  the  Post  Office  Department, 

2,382  42 

Total, 

S29,844  05 

^V-5/83 


OUTSTANDING  BILL9. 


There  are  outstanding  bills  to  a  considerable  amount,  which  will 
shortly  be  presented  for  settlement.  From  the  data  before  me,  I  am 
enabled  to  furnish  an  approximate  result  as  follows : 


For  Congress, 

For  the  Department  of  State, 
For  the  Department  of  Justice, 
For  the  Treasury  Department, 
For  the  War  Department, 
For  the  Navy  De})artment, 
For  the  Post  Office  Department^ 

Total, 


^2.250  00 

'300  00 

50  00 

6,000  00 

74,974  68 

800  00 

12,000  00 

$96,374  68 


TOTAL  COST  OF  PRINTING. 


From  the  statements  above  given  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  print- 
ing of  the  Government  for  this  period  will  probably  cost  one  hundred 
and  twenty-six  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighteen  dollars  and  seventy- 
three  cents  ($126,218  73). 


For  Congress, 

For  the  Department  of  State, 
For  the  Department  of  Justice, 
For  the  Treasury  Department, 
For  the  War  Department, 
For  the  Navy  Department, 
For  the  Post  Office  Department, 

Total, 


$5,384 

79 

412 

52 

134 

23 

8,311 

71 

95,666 

19 

1,926 

87 

14,382 

42 

$126,218 

73 

QUANTITY  OF  BLANKS  PRINTED. 


I  have  prepared  the  folloAving  table,  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting 
the  quantity  of  printing  executed  for  the  different  Departments  of  the 
Government : 


Department. 

No.  of  Reams. 

No.  of  Blanks. 

State, 

Justice, 

Treasury, 

War, 

Navy, 

Post  Office, 

7 

16 

198 

9,127 

80 

1,417 

3,360 

7,680 

95,040 

4,470,960 

38,400 

680,560 

Total, 

10,845 

5,296,000 

One  thousand  and  fifty-six  (1,056)  blank  books  were  printed,  of 
wliicli  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  (152)  were  for  the  War  Department, 
eight  hundred  and  eighty-four  (884)  for  the  Treasury  Department, 
five  (5)  for  the  Navy  Department,  nine  (9)  for  the  Department  of 
Justice,  and  seven  (7)  for  the  Department  of  State.  There  were  also 
printed  for  the  War  Department  one  hundred  and  four  (104)  "General 
Orders,"  of  from  one  to  thirty  pages  each  in  size,  and  of  which  the 
whole  number  of  copies  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  thou- 
sand ( 151,000).  Three  hundred  anth  forty-five  thousand  (345,000) 
passports  were  also  printed  for  the  Provost  Marshal,  and  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  thousand  (115,000)  railroad  tickets  for  the  Transportation 
Bureau  of  the  War  Department.  For  the  Ordnance  Bureau  there 
were  two  thousand  (2,000)  pamphlets  printed,  and  for  the  Surgeon 
General  two  thousand  (2,000)  surgical  note  books. 

THK  COST  FOR  THE  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT. 

The  totfil  cost  of  the  printing  for  the  Provisional  Government,  as 
supervised  by  this  ofiicc,  amounts  to  one  hundred  and  three  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fourteen  dollars  and  seventy-nine  cents  ($103,814 
79)  as  follows  : 


For  Congress, 

For  the  Department  of  State, 
For  the  Department  of  Justice, 
For  the  Treasury  Department, 
For  the  War  Department, 
For  the  Navy  Department, 
For  the  Post  Office  Department, 

Total, 


$5,907  43 

465  44 

754  43 

3,953  92 

63,247  60 

1,391   58 

28,094  39 

$103,814  79 


INCREASE  OF  PRINTING. 

Thus  it  will  be  observed  that  there  has  been  an  increase  in  the  cost 
of  printing  from  the  22d  February  to  the  31st  December  last,  as  com- 
pared with  that  for  the  corresponding  period  of  ten  months  under  the 
Provisional  Government,  of  twenty -two  thousand  four  hundred  and 
three  dollars. and  ninety-four  cents,  ($22,403  94)  as  follows: 


Department. 

Decrease, 

Increase. 

Congress, 
State, 

$522  64 
52  92 

Justice, 

620  20 

Treasury, 
War, 

$4,357  79 
32,418  59 

Navy, 

535  29 

Post  Office, 

13,711   97 

Total, 

,$14,907  73 

$37,311   67 

The  increase  has  been  the  largest  for  the  "War  Department,  and  the 
greatest  falling  off  is  noticed  in  the  printing  of  the  Post  Office  De- 
partment. The  cause  of  the  large  increase  for  the  former  may  be 
attributed  mainly  to  the  large  accessions  to  the  army  under  the  last 
conscription  act.  In  the  month  of  August,  nearly  -two  millions  of 
blank  muster  rolls,  pay  rolls,  &c.,  &c.,  Avere  ordered  for  this  depart- 
ment alone,  and  this  large  order  is  but  just  filled.  The  decrease  for 
the  latter  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  officers  of  that  Department  before 
the  close  of  the  Provisional  Government,  and  -with  tlic  exception  of 
signature  post  bills  and  circular  letters,  ordered  blanks  sufficient  for 
the  consumption  of  six  mouths. 


THE  APPROPRIATIONS. 


By  reference  to  the  books  of  the  Treasury,  I  find  that  there  will  be 
a  surplus  of  forty-one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-five  dollars 
and  four  cents  (^41,786  04),  of  which  eight  thousand  three  hundr:d 
and  fifty-seven  dollars  and  thirty  cents  ($8,357  30)  may  be  expended 
for  the  printing  of  Congress,  and  thirty-three  thousand  four  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  dollars  and  seventy-four  cents  ($33,427  74)  for  the 
printing  of  the  several  Executive  Departments,  as  follows  : 

Amount  to  the  credit  of  the  Executive  Departments, 

Dec.  31st,  1862,  $127,552  42 

Deduct  amount  of  outstanding  bills,  less  the  item  for 

Congress,  94,124  68 


$33,427  74 


Amount  to  the  credit  of  Congress,  Dec.  31st,  1862,  $10,607  30 

Deduct  amount  of  outstmd  no;  bills,  2,250  GO 


$8,357  30 
Add  for  the  Executive  Departments,  33,427  74 


Total  surplus,  $41.785  04 

f 
I  can  only  account  for  this  large  surplus  on  the  ground  that  two 
appropriations  for  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars,  ($37,000,)  one  ap- 
proved 24th  December,  18G1,  and  the  other,  a  special  Act,  Dec.  31st, 
186  I,  were  made  by  Congress  upon  one  estimate  from  this  office,  that 
of  the  26th  November,  1861.  The  estimates  for  six  months  from  the 
3 1st  January  next,  required  by  law,  have  already  been  transmitted  to 

THE    ADVERTISING. 

I  have  ascertained  that  seventy-two  dollars  and  sixty-two  cents, 
($72  62,)  have  been  paid  out  of  the   appropriations  for  the  printing 


of  the  Executive  Departments  for  advertising.  I  would  respectfully 
submit  that  advertising  does  not  come  "within  the  object  aimed  at  in 
these  appropriations,  and  that  as  it  is  not  under  the  control  or  direc- 
tion of  this  office,  it  is  not  includtd  in  the  estimates  for  the  printing 
of  the  several  Executive  Departments. 

PURCHASE  OF  PAPER,  AND  COMPENSATION  OF  CONTRACTORS. 

On  the  19th  August  last  I  addressed  a  le'ter  to  you,  requesting  an 
amendment  in  the  fourth  section  of  the  Act  of  the  Provisional  Con- 
gress, approved  May  14th,  1861,  entitled  "An  Act  to  organize  fur- 
ther the  Bureau  of  Superintendent  of  Public  Printing,"  by  confer- 
ring upon  me  additional  authority  to  purchase,  without  advertising  for 
sealed  proposals,  paper  necessary  to  do  all  the  printing  of  Congress, 
or  either  one  of  the  Executive  Departments,  and  writing  paper  and 
envelopes  used  by  Congress  or  the  Executive  Departments. 

The  scarcity  of  paper,  and  the  high  prices  which  it  commands,  has 
been  the  chief  source  of  embarrassment.  Paper  manufactured  with- 
in the  limi'S  of  the  Confederacy  has  advanced  more  than  one  hundred 
per  cent.,  and  that  of  foreign  manufacture,  suitable  for  blank  books, 
and  the  finer  description  of  printing,  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to 
five  hundred  per  cent.  So  steady  has  been  the  advance  in  price,  and 
so  great  the  demand  for  it,  that  I  have  found  it  impossible  to  secure  a 
single  contract.  Nor  is  there  a  probability  that  I  will  be  able  to  make 
a  single  contract  until  peace  is  established.  The  manufacturers  are 
well  aware  that  they  can  find  a  ready  sale  for  all  the  paper  they  can 
make,  and  prefer  rather  to  risk  the  market  than  fix  the  price,  as  they 
would  be  compelled  to  do  if  they  made  a  contract  under  the  Act  of 
May  14th,  1861.  The  law  as  it  now  stands  gives  me  authority  to  con- 
tract, but  does  not  authorize  me  to  make  purchases.  You  will  recol- 
lect that  several  months  ago  I  consulted  you  upon  this  subject.  Your 
reply  was  to  the  cftectthat  I  could  lawfully  purchase  paper  needed  for 
immediate  use,  provided  I  could  not  secure  a  contract  for  it.  I  have 
done  so  on  several  occasions,  when  circumstances  imperatively  de- 
manded it,  but  it  would  be  more  economical  to  keep  a  large  supply  on 
hand,  so  that  all  the  paper  required  for  the  printing  could  be  sup- 
plied by  this  Bureau. 

As  I  stated  in  the  letter  above  referred  to,  a  large  portion  of  the 
paper  now  used  is  purchased  by  the  several  contractors  of  the  paper 
dealers  of  this  city,  who  obtain  it  from  vessels  running  the  blockade 
or  in  distant  parts  of  the  Confederacy.  Of  course  it  is  held  at  a 
high  figure, "and  the  government  not  only  pays  what  it  costs  in  the 
first  instance,  but  also  the  advance  demanded  here  for  it.  I  would 
add  that  the  law  of  February  27th,  1861,  fixes  the  per  cent,  allowed 
to  the  contractor  at  not  more  than  twenty  per  cent,  on  the  actual  cost 
of  the  paper.  Under  the  several  contracts,  this  per  cent,  ranges  from 
five  to  ten  per  cent.  Consequently  it  makes  no  difference  how  much 
the  contractor  pays  for  paper,  as  he  is  sure  of  his  five  or  ten  per  cent., 
which  is  a  handsome  profit  on  the  amount  invested.  You  will  ob- 
serve, therefore,  that  if  1  am  authorized  to  purchase  the  paper,  this 
per  cent,  will  also  be  saved  to  the  Government. 


10 

I  have  included  writing  paper  and  envelopes,  because  I  am  very  fre- 
quently requested  by  the  several  Departments  to  furnish  these  arti- 
cles, and  because  I  believe  it  would  result  in  a  considerable  saving-  to 
the  Government. 

In  the  letter  of  August  19th  last,  I  also  recommended  the  repeal 
of  the  first,  second,  and  third  clauses  in  the  seventh  section  of  tht 
Act  of  Feb.  27th,  18G1,  and  the  passage  of  a  bill  fixini^  the  price  for 
all  descriptions  of  work  as  follows:  For  composition, plain,  per  1,000 
ems,  seventy  cents  ;  composition,  rule,  and  rule  and  figure,  per  1,000 
cms,  one  dollar  and  twenty  cents  ;  press  work,  per  token,  including 
folding  and  stitching,  seventy  cents. 

I  have  made  this  recommeiidation  for  the  purpose  of  simplifying 
the  rates  of  compensation  allowed  contractors,  and  for  the  further 
reason  that  at  the  firs-t  session  of  the  Permanent  Congress  a  resolu- 
tion for  the  preservation  of  public  documents,  approved  April  19th, 
1862,  was  adopted,  by  which  it  is  made  my  duty  to  deliver  to  you  two 
hundred  copies  of  all  documents  printed,  by  order  of  cither  House  of 
Congress,  for  the  purpose  of  being  indexed  and  bound  in  volumes. 
In  order  to  secure  uniformity,  it  became  necessary  to  print  all  docu- 
ments in  pages  of  equal  size,  and  to  make  a  change  in  the  compensa- 
tion allowed  to  the  Congressional  printer. 

These  recommendations  were  laid  before  Congress  at  its  last  ses- 
sion, and  I  understand  that  the  House  Committee  on  Printing  framed 
a  bill  in  accordance  therewith,  but  were  unable  to  report  it  for  the 
action  of  the  House,  in  consequence  of  the  heavy  pressure  of  other 
important  measures.  In  this  bill  a  third  section  in  relation  to  ruling 
and  binding  was  introduced.  Under  the  Act  approved  February 
27th,  1861,  the  chief  officers  of  the  Government  are  authorized  to 
contract  for  all  necessary  printing  in  connection  with  their  several 
offices.  Heretofore  when  proposals  were  invited  f  jr  printing,  no  bids 
were  made  for  rulinn;  or  for  bindino;.  As  a  large  number  of  blank 
books,  (1,056  for  the  current  year),  which  are  both  ruled  and  bound, 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  blank  pay-rolls,  muster-rolls,  requisi- 
tions, kc,  (10,845  reams  for  the  current  Tear),  which  require  ruling 
are  used  by  the  Government,  you  will  at  once  perceive  the  importance 
of  adopting  a  uniform  rate  for  ruling  and  for  binding,  or  leaving  it  to 
the  competition  of  bidders. 

I  have  again  called  your  attention  to  these  subjects,  in  the  hope 
that  you  may  be  able  to  obtain  early  action  on  the  part  of  Congress. 

THE  printer's  certificates. 

In  my  last  annual  report  I  called  the  attention  of  the  then  Attor- 
ney General  (Mr.  Bragg)  to  the  fact  that  the  tenth  section  of  the  Act 
of  27th  Feb.,  1861,  requires  the  "public  printer  or  contractor  to  pro- 
duce a  voucher,  showing  the  cost  of  the  paper  used  and  the  quantity 
thereof,  to  swear  to  the  correctness  of  his  account,  and  procure  the 
certificate  of  two  disinterested  practical  printers,  not  connected  with 
his  office,  that  it  has  been  made  out  correctly  under  the  law."  The 
contractors  have  complained  that  this  section  has  put  them  to  unne- 


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cessary  trouble,  ami  caused  a  delay  in  the  settlement  of  their  ac- 
counts, which  is  injurious  to  their  interests.  They  have  also  com- 
plained that  even  after  the  examination  has  been  made  and  the  cer- 
tificate given  by  these  parties,  this  bureau  has  refused  to  approve  the 
account,  and  in  some  cases,  made  material  alterations  and  deductions. 
This  can  be  obviated,  and  the  object  of  the  Government  attained,  by 
simply  doing  away  with  the  certificate  of  the  two  disinterested  prac- 
tical printers,  and  continuing  to  require  the  voucher  for  paper  and 
the  oath  of  the  public  printer  or  contractor  to  the  correctness  of  his 
account. 

All  bills  for  printing  are  subjected  to  a  rigid  examination  by  this 
Bureau.  Not  only  are  the  rates  fixed  bj  the  contracts  and  the  laws 
adhered  to,  but  the  closest  scrutiny  is  made  as  to  the  actual  quantity 
of  composition,  presswork,  binding  and  ruling.  In  fact  the  investi- 
gation is  made  without  the  slightest  reference  to  any  of  these  certifi- 
cates, although  no  bill  has  been  approved  without  them,  because  they 
are  required  by  the  law. 

printers'  usages. 

It  is  the  almost  universal  practice  of  printers,  when  a  large  order 
for  blanks  is  received,  to  put  in  type  two  or  more  forms,  but  to  charge 
composition  upon  one  only.  Presswork  is  then  charged  as  if  one 
blank  oi  ly  were  worked  oif  at  a  single  impression,  when  the  fact  is, 
that  two  or  more  are  produced.  To  make  the  matter  morq^)lain,  let 
us  suppose  that  the  composition  upon  a  single  form  be  2,000  ems. 
At  seventy  cents  per  1,000  ems  (the  price  fixed  by  the  law)  it  vould 
only  amount  to  one  dollar  and  forty  cents,  whilst  the  presswork  on 
ten  thousand  copies  (if  that  many  were  ordered)  at  seventy  cents  per 
token,  would  amount  to  twenty-eight  dollars.  Now,  if  composition 
on  two  forms  were  charged,  (and  in  the  case  to  which  I  allude  two 
forms  would  be  set  up),  is  it  not  palpable  that  tAvo  blanks  are  printed 
at  one  impression,  and  that  instead  of  the  presswork  footing  up  twen- 
ty-eight dollars,  it  would  be  but  fourteen — a  clear  saving  of  twelve 
dollars  and  sixty  cents. 

I  give  the  above  as  one  of  the  regulations  which  govern  the  pro- 
prietors of  printing  establishments.  There  are  others  quite  as  im- 
portaijt,  but  in  all  instances  I  have  felt  it  my  duty,  with  a  proper  ap- 
preciation of  the  responsibilities  resting  upon  me,  to  disregard  them. 
After  a  careful  consideration  of  the  1  iw,  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  the 
intention  simply  to  pay  for  the  work  actually  performed,  and  for  that 
only ;  and,  consequently,  I  have  refused  to  approve  any  bills  that 
were  not  made  out  in  accordance  with  this  construction  of  the  law. 

THE    CONTRACTORS. 

During  the  Provisional  Government  the  contract  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice  was  awarded  to  Messrs.  Tyler,  Wise  &  Allegre ;  that 
of  the  State  Department  to  Messrs.  Ritchie  &  Dunnavant ;  that  of  the 


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Treasury  Department  to  Messrs.  Tyler,  Wise  &  Allegro ;  that  of  the 
War  Department  to  Messrs.  Ritchie  &  Dunnavant ;  that  of  the  Navy 
Department  to  Messrs.  Macfarlane  &  Fergusson,  and  that  of  the  Post- 
office  Department  to  Messrs.  Ritchie  &  Dunnavant.  On  the  first  of 
April  last  a  contract  for  four  years  was  made  hy  the  Postmaster  Gen- 
eral with  Mr.  John  II.  Seals,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia,  but  on  the  5th  of 
November  last  it  was  annulled  by  that  officer,  in  consequence  of  a 
non-fulfillment  of  its  conditions.  Since  then  a  second  contract  has 
been  made  with  Messrs.  Ritchie  &  Dunnavant,  who  are  now  perform- 
ing the  work  for  that  department. 

THE    LAWS. 

The  laws  passed  at  the  last  session  of  Congress,  printed  in  a  style 
equal  to  that  of  Little  &  Brown's  edition  of  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  are  ready  for  distribution.  The  printing  of  the  laws  of  the 
Provisional  Congress,  in  the  same  form,  is  not  completed,  owing  chiefly 
to  the  scarcity  of  printing  material. 

The  body  of  the  laws  is  set  in  long  primer  type,  of  which  the  Con- 
gressional printer,  until  very  recently,  could  only  procure  sufficient 
to  set  up  one  form  of  sixteen  pages.  Proof-reading,  comparing  with 
the  original  rolls,  and  the  presswork  occupy  an  entire  week,  making 
it  impossible  to  print  more  than  one  form  per  week.  Delays  have  also 
been  occasioned  by  the  pressure  of  other  work  during  the  sittings  of 
Congress.  However,  with  the  increased  facilities  which  Mr.  R.  M. 
Smith,  tire  Congressional  printer,  now  has  at  his  command,  I  hope 
shortly  to  be  able  to  deliver  to  you  the  entire  number  for  distribu- 
tion. 

CONGRESSIONAL   DOCUMENTS. 

In  compliance  with  the  resolution  approved  April  19th,  1862,  I  de- 
livered to  you  two  hundred  copies  of  each  public  document  ordered  to 
be  printed  at  the  last  session  of  Congress,  for  the  purpose  of  being 
indexed  and  bound  in  volumes  of  convenient  size.  I  perceive  serious 
obstacles  to  the  preparation  of  a  complete  index,  from  the  fact  that 
the  documents  cannot  be  paged  with  reference  to  the  use  contemplated 
in  this  resolution.  Frequently  several  documents  are  printed  at  the 
same  time,  and  it  is  impossible  to  page  them  so  that  they  may  form 
separate  portions  of  the  same  bo  )k.  However,  I  would  suggest,  as  a 
partial  remedy,  that  these  documents  be  severally  numbered  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Senate  and  the  Clerk  of  the  House,  (Senate  docu- 
ment No.  1,  House  document  No.  1,  and  so  on,)  and  that  these 
numbers  be  printed  in  an  appropriate  head  line  on  the  first  page  of 
each  document  respectively. 

THE    HOUSE    JOURNAL. 

I  was  informed  by  the  Clerk  of  the  House,  after  its  adjournment, 
that  the  Journal  of  that  body  had  been  ordered  to  be  printed,  and  I 


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made  arrangements  to  have  the  work  executed  expeditiously      Up  to 
this  writing  I  have  not  received  the  manuscript  copy. 

I  have  the  honor,  sir,  to  be. 

Very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

GEO.  E.  W.  NELSON, 

Supt.  Public  Printing. 


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